AUGUSTA, MAINE – Samantha Tupper of Augusta and Kwiesha McBride, Frankie Dejesus and Diana Davis of New York state were arrested for a shooting, in which two legally armed bystanders stopped the incident, police said.

Four people were arrested in connection with a shootout last night in the Augusta Wal Mart parking lot.

Police say two armed citizens stepped up to diffuse a dangerous situation.

“I’m proud of my husband for what he did, for stepping in and getting involved and making sure people were safe,” said Carrie Chavvane, a witness of the incident.

“Two vehicles that had appeared were parked next to each other. The occupants inside exchanged gunfire and then there was an altercation after that between the occupants in the parking lot,” said Lt. Christopher Massey with Augusta PD.

During the altercation, customer Daniel Chavanne, who was about to leave with his wife and kids, took matters into his own hands. We’re told Chavanne, a licensed concealed carrier, drew his firearm and diffused the situation. Then another armed shopper came to Chavanne’s aid.

“If they hadn’t stepped in, somebody would have been hurt, severely hurt. You know one of my kids could have got shot,” said Chavanne’s wife, Carrie.

Wal-Mart released this statement, “This day and age, having a response plan for emergencies is an important part of any business’ security planning. Immediately after Sunday night’s incident in our parking lot, associates secured the store and moved customers to a safe location.”

Four people are facing charges – Kwiesha (kwee-sha) McBride of New York City; Frankie Dejesus and Diana Davis of Rochester, New York; and Samantha Tupper, of Augusta. Police say two were arrested at the Wal-Mart and the other two were caught later that night.

Police commend the bravery of the men who stepped up, but they have concerns.

“We certainly don’t encourage the intervention like that. In this case it turned out okay. We can speculate about what may have happened had they not intervened. But again, police that are responding up there, with multiple 911 calls, we don’t know as we get there who’s who. You know who’s someone that’s trying to help versus somebody that may actually be involved in the incident. And again, in this case, it turned out fine and they did prevent anything further from happening,” said Lt. Massey.